Discount on NTUC FairPrice wholegrain rice as war on diabetes steps up
SINGAPORE: In a bid to intensify the war against diabetes, NTUC FairPrice announced on Wednesday (8 Jun) that it will offer a 5 per cent discount on its housebrand wholegrain rice for three months.
The offer applies to the Fairprice brand's Thai Brown Unpolished Rice, Thai Red Unpolished Rice and Thai Rice Blend, which is a mix of white and brown rice.
Fairprice will also give the same discount for products carrying the Health Promotion Board’s Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) for a fortnight, across its 133 supermarkets.
The supermarket chain hopes this will encourage people to consume healthier carbohydrates as wholegrain rice contains more fibre, vitamins and minerals than white rice. The healthier options have been shown to lower the risk of developing diabetes.
The move was welcomed by health officials and advocates.
"We continue to advocate the replacement of refined staples with wholegrain varieties and the reduction of sugar sweetened beverages as priority efforts to enable Singaporeans to combat such chronic diseases,” said Gladys Wong, member of the Management Committee of the Diabetic Society of Singapore.
Mr Zee Yoong Kang, CEO of the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB) lauded the move by Fairprice,“We are pleased that FairPrice is taking active steps to raise the awareness of healthier choice options amongst consumers, including promoting wholegrain items. "
"The market share of Healthier Choice Symbol products has been gaining market share with sales of Healthier Choice Symbol products growing at nine per cent annually. This is a very encouraging sign that more and more Singaporeans are taking steps to select healthier options when grocery shopping. We encourage more F&B retailers to join in this effort so that together we can increase the pervasiveness of healthier options for Singaporeans.”
The announcement marks the start of a slew of initiatives to be rolled out by the supermarket chain this year, to raise awareness on diabetes and to promote healthier eating.
- -CNA/fr